A post to the EA Forums from SimCity senior producer Kip Katsarelis explains the measures they are taking to address launch issues with the new SimCity, which include a server hotfix and a version 1.2 patch, but apparently no refunds (contrary to an early statement that said these would be offered). Word is they have temporarily cut off some features to help their servers cope with demand:

Server capacity is our biggest obstacle. We launched in North America on Tuesday and our servers filled up within a matter of hours. What we saw was that players were having such a good time they didn't want to leave the game, which kept our servers packed and made it difficult for new players to join. We added more servers to accommodate the launch in Australia and Japan, and then more yesterday to accommodate the launch in Europe. As of right now, we are adding even more servers which will be going live over the next three days. And, our plan is to continue to bring more servers online until we have enough to meet the demand, increase player capacity and let more people through the gates and into the game.

Earlier today, we released a patch that temporarily cut off some features including leaderboards, achievements and Cheetah Speed to reduce data stress on the servers and effectively free up space so that we can let more people into the game. These are great features that we're proud of and we'll turn them back on soon, but our number one priority is to bring stability to our servers. This update also resolved some of the bugs and issues that have been frustrating players. You can read all about it at http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/9341807.page

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Hudson187 wrote on Mar 7, 2013, 22:18:I had ordered my retail copy from Amazon -- came in on Tuesday. I got around to installing it last night and tried to play it tonight. I first sat in "queue" for 45 minutes... yes... 45 minutes. Then, I got into the title screen where the game "tried" to load the tutorial, but never loaded the map as I kept losing connection to the server. I have just requested a RMA from Amazon so I can send them back this POS. Yes, the key is connected to my account, but I can assure you I'm also uninstalling Origin since BF3 has turned into a cheatfest anyway. I'm truly disappointed in Maxis; I will NEVER give either Maxis or EA my $$ again. I'm still extremely bothered by the fact that a SP game REQUIRES a constant internet connection -- that requirement alone should have been enough to warn me, but I put faith in Maxis and the SimCity franchise. At this point I'd rather play SimCity on SNES.

*THIS* is why EA keeps making money off of people who don't know better.

When EA buys a developer, everyone needs to quit pretending that the publisher and the developer are different entities.

This isn't Maxis failing you. Maxis no longer exists.

EA bought the name and looted the talent, and is now milking every last penny out of the loyalty associated with the name "Maxis" and the name "Sim City" no matter what.

EA would rather make one million dollars in one year than three million dollars in two years. There is no sacrifice too big to make for a tiny short-term game.

It's wrong to think of never giving "Maxis of EA" any of your money ever again. All you need to think is not to give EA *ANY* of your money ever again.

Until people learn to understand that a developer OWNED by EA means that that developer is dead... they will keep buying EA's fecal matter.

They're not entirely horrendous as a pure publisher. When you compare Guitar Hero and Rock Band, for instance, EA clearly comes out as the more customer friendly option. But, of course, they're up against Activision, so that's not really saying a lot.

Hope you get your money back. Send me a msg if you do please, I have friends that don't know better and may have naively purchased the game.

I also hope you truly mean your statement about not giving EA any more money... ever...